Page 1018 - war-and-peace

The prince’s house did not belong to what is known as
fashionable society, but his little circlethough not much talk-
ed about in townwas one it was more flattering to be received
in than any other. Boris had realized this the week before
when the commander in chief in his presence invited Ros-
topchin to dinner on St. Nicholas’ Day, and Rostopchin had
replied that he could not come:
‘On that day I always go to pay my devotions to the relics
of Prince Nicholas Bolkonski.’
‘Oh, yes, yes!’ replied the commander in chief. ‘How is
he?..’
The small group that assembled before dinner in the lofty
old-fashioned drawing room with its old furniture resembled
the solemn gathering of a court of justice. All were silent or
talked in low tones. Prince Nicholas came in serious and tac-
iturn. Princess Mary seemed even quieter and more diffident
than usual. The guests were reluctant to address her, feeling
that she was in no mood for their conversation. Count Ros-
topchin alone kept the conversation going, now relating the
latest town news, and now the latest political gossip.
Lopukhin and the old general occasionally took part in
the conversation. Prince Bolkonski listened as a presiding
judge receives a report, only now and then, silently or by
a brief word, showing that he took heed of what was being
reported to him. The tone of the conversation was such as in-
dicated that no one approved of what was being done in the
political world. Incidents were related evidently confirming
the opinion that everything was going from bad to worse,
but whether telling a story or giving an opinion the speaker

1018 War and Peace